diff --git a/packages/tests/src/index.ts b/packages/tests/src/index.ts
index 977389d4a9..746345a2b0 100644
--- a/packages/tests/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/tests/src/index.ts
@@ -10,3 +10,5 @@ export * from "./constants.js";
 export * from "./delay.js";
 export * from "./log_file.js";
 export * from "./node/node.js";
+export * from "./teardown.js";
+export * from "./message_collector.js";
diff --git a/packages/tests/src/message_collector.ts b/packages/tests/src/message_collector.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..d37bb86e85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/tests/src/message_collector.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,208 @@
+import { DecodedMessage, DefaultPubSubTopic } from "@waku/core";
+import { bytesToUtf8 } from "@waku/utils/bytes";
+import { AssertionError, expect } from "chai";
+import debug from "debug";
+
+import { MessageRpcResponse } from "./node/interfaces.js";
+
+import { base64ToUtf8, delay, NimGoNode } from "./index.js";
+
+const log = debug("waku:test");
+
+/**
+ * Class responsible for collecting messages.
+ * It provides utility methods to interact with the collected messages,
+ * and offers a way to wait for incoming messages.
+ */
+export class MessageCollector {
+  list: Array<MessageRpcResponse | DecodedMessage> = [];
+  callback: (msg: DecodedMessage) => void = () => {};
+
+  constructor(
+    private contentTopic: string,
+    private nwaku?: NimGoNode,
+    private pubSubTopic = DefaultPubSubTopic
+  ) {
+    if (!this.nwaku) {
+      this.callback = (msg: DecodedMessage): void => {
+        log("Got a message");
+        this.list.push(msg);
+      };
+    }
+  }
+
+  get count(): number {
+    return this.list.length;
+  }
+
+  getMessage(index: number): MessageRpcResponse | DecodedMessage {
+    return this.list[index];
+  }
+
+  // Type guard to determine if a message is of type MessageRpcResponse
+  isMessageRpcResponse(
+    message: MessageRpcResponse | DecodedMessage
+  ): message is MessageRpcResponse {
+    return (
+      ("payload" in message && typeof message.payload === "string") ||
+      !!this.nwaku
+    );
+  }
+
+  async waitForMessages(
+    numMessages: number,
+    timeoutDuration: number = 400
+  ): Promise<boolean> {
+    const startTime = Date.now();
+
+    while (this.count < numMessages) {
+      if (this.nwaku) {
+        try {
+          this.list = await this.nwaku.messages(this.pubSubTopic);
+        } catch (error) {
+          log(`Can't retrieve messages because of ${error}`);
+          await delay(10);
+        }
+      }
+
+      if (Date.now() - startTime > timeoutDuration * numMessages) {
+        return false;
+      }
+
+      await delay(10);
+    }
+
+    return true;
+  }
+
+  // Verifies a received message against expected values.
+  verifyReceivedMessage(
+    index: number,
+    options: {
+      expectedMessageText: string | Uint8Array | undefined;
+      expectedContentTopic?: string;
+      expectedPubSubTopic?: string;
+      expectedVersion?: number;
+      expectedMeta?: Uint8Array;
+      expectedEphemeral?: boolean;
+      expectedTimestamp?: bigint;
+      checkTimestamp?: boolean; // Used to determine if we need to check the timestamp
+    }
+  ): void {
+    expect(this.list.length).to.be.greaterThan(
+      index,
+      `The message list does not have a message at index ${index}`
+    );
+
+    const message = this.getMessage(index);
+    expect(message.contentTopic).to.eq(
+      options.expectedContentTopic || this.contentTopic,
+      `Message content topic mismatch. Expected: ${
+        options.expectedContentTopic || this.contentTopic
+      }. Got: ${message.contentTopic}`
+    );
+
+    expect(message.version).to.eq(
+      options.expectedVersion || 0,
+      `Message version mismatch. Expected: ${
+        options.expectedVersion || 0
+      }. Got: ${message.version}`
+    );
+
+    if (message.ephemeral !== undefined) {
+      expect(message.ephemeral).to.eq(
+        options.expectedEphemeral !== undefined
+          ? options.expectedEphemeral
+          : false,
+        `Message ephemeral value mismatch. Expected: ${
+          options.expectedEphemeral !== undefined
+            ? options.expectedEphemeral
+            : false
+        }. Got: ${message.ephemeral}`
+      );
+    }
+
+    if (this.isMessageRpcResponse(message)) {
+      // nwaku message specific assertions
+      const receivedMessageText = message.payload
+        ? base64ToUtf8(message.payload)
+        : undefined;
+
+      expect(receivedMessageText).to.eq(
+        options.expectedMessageText,
+        `Message text mismatch. Expected: ${options.expectedMessageText}. Got: ${receivedMessageText}`
+      );
+
+      if (message.timestamp) {
+        // In we send timestamp in the request we assert that it matches the timestamp in the response +- 1 sec
+        // We take the 1s deviation because there are some ms diffs in timestamps, probably because of conversions
+        if (options.expectedTimestamp !== undefined) {
+          const lowerBound =
+            BigInt(options.expectedTimestamp) - BigInt(1000000000);
+          const upperBound =
+            BigInt(options.expectedTimestamp) + BigInt(1000000000);
+
+          if (
+            message.timestamp < lowerBound ||
+            message.timestamp > upperBound
+          ) {
+            throw new AssertionError(
+              `Message timestamp not within the expected range. Expected between: ${lowerBound} and ${upperBound}. Got: ${message.timestamp}`
+            );
+          }
+        }
+        // In we don't send timestamp in the request we assert that the timestamp in the response is between now and (now-10s)
+        else {
+          const now = BigInt(Date.now()) * BigInt(1_000_000);
+          const tenSecondsAgo = now - BigInt(10_000_000_000);
+
+          if (message.timestamp < tenSecondsAgo || message.timestamp > now) {
+            throw new AssertionError(
+              `Message timestamp not within the expected range. Expected between: ${tenSecondsAgo} and ${now}. Got: ${message.timestamp}`
+            );
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    } else {
+      // js-waku message specific assertions
+      expect(message.pubSubTopic).to.eq(
+        options.expectedPubSubTopic || DefaultPubSubTopic,
+        `Message pub/sub topic mismatch. Expected: ${
+          options.expectedPubSubTopic || DefaultPubSubTopic
+        }. Got: ${message.pubSubTopic}`
+      );
+
+      expect(bytesToUtf8(message.payload)).to.eq(
+        options.expectedMessageText,
+        `Message text mismatch. Expected: ${
+          options.expectedMessageText
+        }. Got: ${bytesToUtf8(message.payload)}`
+      );
+
+      const shouldCheckTimestamp =
+        options.checkTimestamp !== undefined ? options.checkTimestamp : true;
+      if (shouldCheckTimestamp && message.timestamp) {
+        const now = Date.now();
+        const tenSecondsAgo = now - 10000;
+        expect(message.timestamp.getTime()).to.be.within(
+          tenSecondsAgo,
+          now,
+          `Message timestamp not within the expected range. Expected between: ${tenSecondsAgo} and ${now}. Got: ${message.timestamp.getTime()}`
+        );
+      }
+
+      expect([
+        options.expectedMeta,
+        undefined,
+        new Uint8Array(0)
+      ]).to.deep.include(
+        message.meta,
+        `Message meta mismatch. Expected: ${
+          options.expectedMeta
+            ? JSON.stringify(options.expectedMeta)
+            : "undefined or " + JSON.stringify(new Uint8Array(0))
+        }. Got: ${JSON.stringify(message.meta)}`
+      );
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/tests/src/node/interfaces.ts b/packages/tests/src/node/interfaces.ts
index 742a8e85c0..66ba21c71e 100644
--- a/packages/tests/src/node/interfaces.ts
+++ b/packages/tests/src/node/interfaces.ts
@@ -52,4 +52,5 @@ export interface MessageRpcResponse {
   contentTopic?: string;
   version?: number;
   timestamp?: bigint; // Unix epoch time in nanoseconds as a 64-bits integer value.
+  ephemeral?: boolean;
 }
diff --git a/packages/tests/src/node/node.ts b/packages/tests/src/node/node.ts
index d03f7b2c1d..27cc44b6ea 100644
--- a/packages/tests/src/node/node.ts
+++ b/packages/tests/src/node/node.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { DefaultPubSubTopic } from "@waku/core";
 import { isDefined } from "@waku/utils";
 import { bytesToHex, hexToBytes } from "@waku/utils/bytes";
 import debug from "debug";
+import pRetry from "p-retry";
 import portfinder from "portfinder";
 
 import { existsAsync, mkdirAsync, openAsync } from "../async_fs.js";
@@ -164,6 +165,25 @@ export class NimGoNode {
     }
   }
 
+  async startWithRetries(
+    args: Args,
+    options: {
+      retries: number;
+    }
+  ): Promise<void> {
+    await pRetry(
+      async () => {
+        try {
+          await this.start(args);
+        } catch (error) {
+          log("Nwaku node failed to start:", error);
+          throw error;
+        }
+      },
+      { retries: options.retries }
+    );
+  }
+
   public async stop(): Promise<void> {
     await this.docker?.container?.stop();
     delete this.docker;
diff --git a/packages/tests/src/teardown.ts b/packages/tests/src/teardown.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..caecec6e44
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/tests/src/teardown.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+import { LightNode } from "@waku/interfaces";
+import debug from "debug";
+
+import { NimGoNode } from "./index.js";
+
+const log = debug("waku:test");
+
+export function tearDownNodes(
+  nwakuNodes: NimGoNode[],
+  wakuNodes: LightNode[]
+): void {
+  nwakuNodes.forEach((nwaku) => {
+    if (nwaku) {
+      nwaku.stop().catch((e) => log("Nwaku failed to stop", e));
+    }
+  });
+
+  wakuNodes.forEach((waku) => {
+    if (waku) {
+      waku.stop().catch((e) => log("Waku failed to stop", e));
+    }
+  });
+}
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/filter/filter_test_utils.ts b/packages/tests/tests/filter/filter_test_utils.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 7037063da9..0000000000
--- a/packages/tests/tests/filter/filter_test_utils.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,254 +0,0 @@
-import {
-  createDecoder,
-  createEncoder,
-  DecodedMessage,
-  Decoder,
-  DefaultPubSubTopic,
-  Encoder,
-  waitForRemotePeer
-} from "@waku/core";
-import { IFilterSubscription, LightNode, Protocols } from "@waku/interfaces";
-// import { createLightNode } from "@waku/sdk";
-import { createLightNode } from "@waku/sdk";
-import { bytesToUtf8, utf8ToBytes } from "@waku/utils/bytes";
-import { expect } from "chai";
-import debug from "debug";
-import { Context } from "mocha";
-import pRetry from "p-retry";
-
-import {
-  delay,
-  makeLogFileName,
-  NimGoNode,
-  NOISE_KEY_1
-} from "../../src/index.js";
-
-// Constants for test configuration.
-export const log = debug("waku:test:filter");
-export const TestContentTopic = "/test/1/waku-filter";
-export const TestEncoder = createEncoder({ contentTopic: TestContentTopic });
-export const TestDecoder = createDecoder(TestContentTopic);
-export const messageText = "Filtering works!";
-export const messagePayload = { payload: utf8ToBytes(messageText) };
-
-/**
- * Class responsible for collecting messages.
- * It provides utility methods to interact with the collected messages,
- * and offers a way to wait for incoming messages.
- */
-export class MessageCollector {
-  list: Array<DecodedMessage> = [];
-
-  // Callback to handle incoming messages.
-  callback = (msg: DecodedMessage): void => {
-    log("Got a message");
-    this.list.push(msg);
-  };
-
-  get count(): number {
-    return this.list.length;
-  }
-
-  getMessage(index: number): DecodedMessage {
-    return this.list[index];
-  }
-
-  async waitForMessages(
-    numMessages: number,
-    timeoutDuration: number = 400
-  ): Promise<boolean> {
-    const startTime = Date.now();
-
-    while (this.count < numMessages) {
-      if (Date.now() - startTime > timeoutDuration * numMessages) {
-        return false;
-      }
-      await delay(10);
-    }
-
-    return true;
-  }
-
-  // Verifies a received message against expected values.
-  verifyReceivedMessage(options: {
-    index: number;
-    expectedContentTopic?: string;
-    expectedPubSubTopic?: string;
-    expectedMessageText?: string | Uint8Array;
-    expectedVersion?: number;
-    expectedMeta?: Uint8Array;
-    expectedEphemeral?: boolean;
-    checkTimestamp?: boolean; // Used to determine if we need to check the timestamp
-  }): void {
-    expect(this.list.length).to.be.greaterThan(
-      options.index,
-      `The message list does not have a message at index ${options.index}`
-    );
-
-    const message = this.getMessage(options.index);
-    expect(message.contentTopic).to.eq(
-      options.expectedContentTopic || TestContentTopic,
-      `Message content topic mismatch. Expected: ${
-        options.expectedContentTopic || TestContentTopic
-      }. Got: ${message.contentTopic}`
-    );
-
-    expect(message.pubSubTopic).to.eq(
-      options.expectedPubSubTopic || DefaultPubSubTopic,
-      `Message pub/sub topic mismatch. Expected: ${
-        options.expectedPubSubTopic || DefaultPubSubTopic
-      }. Got: ${message.pubSubTopic}`
-    );
-
-    expect(bytesToUtf8(message.payload)).to.eq(
-      options.expectedMessageText || messageText,
-      `Message text mismatch. Expected: ${
-        options.expectedMessageText || messageText
-      }. Got: ${bytesToUtf8(message.payload)}`
-    );
-
-    expect(message.version).to.eq(
-      options.expectedVersion || 0,
-      `Message version mismatch. Expected: ${
-        options.expectedVersion || 0
-      }. Got: ${message.version}`
-    );
-
-    const shouldCheckTimestamp =
-      options.checkTimestamp !== undefined ? options.checkTimestamp : true;
-    if (shouldCheckTimestamp && message.timestamp) {
-      const now = Date.now();
-      const tenSecondsAgo = now - 10000;
-      expect(message.timestamp.getTime()).to.be.within(
-        tenSecondsAgo,
-        now,
-        `Message timestamp not within the expected range. Expected between: ${tenSecondsAgo} and ${now}. Got: ${message.timestamp.getTime()}`
-      );
-    }
-
-    expect([
-      options.expectedMeta,
-      undefined,
-      new Uint8Array(0)
-    ]).to.deep.include(
-      message.meta,
-      `Message meta mismatch. Expected: ${
-        options.expectedMeta
-          ? JSON.stringify(options.expectedMeta)
-          : "undefined or " + JSON.stringify(new Uint8Array(0))
-      }. Got: ${JSON.stringify(message.meta)}`
-    );
-
-    expect(message.ephemeral).to.eq(
-      options.expectedEphemeral !== undefined
-        ? options.expectedEphemeral
-        : false,
-      `Message ephemeral value mismatch. Expected: ${
-        options.expectedEphemeral !== undefined
-          ? options.expectedEphemeral
-          : false
-      }. Got: ${message.ephemeral}`
-    );
-  }
-}
-
-// Utility to generate test data for multiple topics tests.
-export function generateTestData(topicCount: number): {
-  contentTopics: string[];
-  encoders: Encoder[];
-  decoders: Decoder[];
-} {
-  const contentTopics = Array.from(
-    { length: topicCount },
-    (_, i) => `/test/${i + 1}/waku-multi`
-  );
-  const encoders = contentTopics.map((topic) =>
-    createEncoder({ contentTopic: topic })
-  );
-  const decoders = contentTopics.map((topic) => createDecoder(topic));
-  return {
-    contentTopics,
-    encoders,
-    decoders
-  };
-}
-
-// Utility to validate errors related to pings in the subscription.
-export async function validatePingError(
-  subscription: IFilterSubscription
-): Promise<void> {
-  try {
-    await subscription.ping();
-    throw new Error(
-      "Ping was successful but was expected to fail with a specific error."
-    );
-  } catch (err) {
-    if (
-      err instanceof Error &&
-      err.message.includes("peer has no subscriptions")
-    ) {
-      return;
-    } else {
-      throw err;
-    }
-  }
-}
-
-interface SetupReturn {
-  nwaku: NimGoNode;
-  waku: LightNode;
-  subscription: IFilterSubscription;
-  messageCollector: MessageCollector;
-}
-
-// Setup before each test to initialize nodes and message collector.
-export async function setupNodes(currentTest: Context): Promise<SetupReturn> {
-  const nwaku = new NimGoNode(makeLogFileName(currentTest));
-  // Sometimes the node setup fails, when that happens we retry it max 3 times.
-  await pRetry(
-    async () => {
-      try {
-        await nwaku.start({
-          filter: true,
-          lightpush: true,
-          relay: true
-        });
-      } catch (error) {
-        log("nwaku node failed to start:", error);
-        throw error;
-      }
-    },
-    { retries: 3 }
-  );
-
-  let waku: LightNode | undefined;
-  try {
-    waku = await createLightNode({
-      staticNoiseKey: NOISE_KEY_1,
-      libp2p: { addresses: { listen: ["/ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/0/ws"] } }
-    });
-    await waku.start();
-  } catch (error) {
-    log("jswaku node failed to start:", error);
-  }
-  if (waku) {
-    await waku.dial(await nwaku.getMultiaddrWithId());
-    await waitForRemotePeer(waku, [Protocols.Filter, Protocols.LightPush]);
-    const subscription = await waku.filter.createSubscription();
-    const messageCollector = new MessageCollector();
-
-    return { nwaku, waku, subscription, messageCollector };
-  } else {
-    throw new Error("Failed to initialize waku");
-  }
-}
-
-export function tearDownNodes(
-  nwaku: NimGoNode,
-  waku: LightNode,
-  nwaku2?: NimGoNode
-): void {
-  !!nwaku && nwaku.stop().catch((e) => log("Nwaku failed to stop", e));
-  !!nwaku2 && nwaku2.stop().catch((e) => log("Nwaku2 failed to stop", e));
-  !!waku && waku.stop().catch((e) => log("Waku failed to stop", e));
-}
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/filter/ping.node.spec.ts b/packages/tests/tests/filter/ping.node.spec.ts
index 7097800f05..b35da7281b 100644
--- a/packages/tests/tests/filter/ping.node.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/tests/tests/filter/ping.node.spec.ts
@@ -2,17 +2,15 @@ import type { IFilterSubscription, LightNode } from "@waku/interfaces";
 import { utf8ToBytes } from "@waku/utils/bytes";
 import { expect } from "chai";
 
-import { NimGoNode } from "../../src/index.js";
+import { MessageCollector, NimGoNode, tearDownNodes } from "../../src/index.js";
 
 import {
-  MessageCollector,
-  setupNodes,
-  tearDownNodes,
+  runNodes,
   TestContentTopic,
   TestDecoder,
   TestEncoder,
   validatePingError
-} from "./filter_test_utils.js";
+} from "./utils.js";
 
 describe("Waku Filter V2: Ping", function () {
   // Set the timeout for all tests in this suite. Can be overwritten at test level
@@ -22,17 +20,15 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Ping", function () {
   let subscription: IFilterSubscription;
   let messageCollector: MessageCollector;
 
-  this.afterEach(async function () {
-    tearDownNodes(nwaku, waku);
-  });
-
   this.beforeEach(async function () {
     this.timeout(15000);
-    const setup = await setupNodes(this);
-    nwaku = setup.nwaku;
-    waku = setup.waku;
-    subscription = setup.subscription;
-    messageCollector = setup.messageCollector;
+    [nwaku, waku] = await runNodes(this);
+    subscription = await waku.filter.createSubscription();
+    messageCollector = new MessageCollector(TestContentTopic);
+  });
+
+  this.afterEach(async function () {
+    tearDownNodes([nwaku], [waku]);
   });
 
   it("Ping on subscribed peer", async function () {
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/filter/push.node.spec.ts b/packages/tests/tests/filter/push.node.spec.ts
index 43609314eb..b695193d34 100644
--- a/packages/tests/tests/filter/push.node.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/tests/tests/filter/push.node.spec.ts
@@ -6,20 +6,20 @@ import { expect } from "chai";
 
 import {
   delay,
+  MessageCollector,
   NimGoNode,
+  tearDownNodes,
   TEST_STRING,
   TEST_TIMESTAMPS
 } from "../../src/index.js";
 
 import {
-  MessageCollector,
   messageText,
-  setupNodes,
-  tearDownNodes,
+  runNodes,
   TestContentTopic,
   TestDecoder,
   TestEncoder
-} from "./filter_test_utils.js";
+} from "./utils.js";
 
 describe("Waku Filter V2: FilterPush", function () {
   // Set the timeout for all tests in this suite. Can be overwritten at test level
@@ -29,17 +29,15 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: FilterPush", function () {
   let subscription: IFilterSubscription;
   let messageCollector: MessageCollector;
 
-  this.afterEach(async function () {
-    tearDownNodes(nwaku, waku);
-  });
-
   this.beforeEach(async function () {
     this.timeout(15000);
-    const setup = await setupNodes(this);
-    nwaku = setup.nwaku;
-    waku = setup.waku;
-    subscription = setup.subscription;
-    messageCollector = setup.messageCollector;
+    [nwaku, waku] = await runNodes(this);
+    subscription = await waku.filter.createSubscription();
+    messageCollector = new MessageCollector(TestContentTopic);
+  });
+
+  this.afterEach(async function () {
+    tearDownNodes([nwaku], [waku]);
   });
 
   TEST_STRING.forEach((testItem) => {
@@ -50,8 +48,7 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: FilterPush", function () {
       });
 
       expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
-      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-        index: 0,
+      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
         expectedMessageText: testItem.value
       });
     });
@@ -72,8 +69,8 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: FilterPush", function () {
       ]);
 
       expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
-      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-        index: 0,
+      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+        expectedMessageText: messageText,
         checkTimestamp: false
       });
 
@@ -82,7 +79,7 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: FilterPush", function () {
       if (testItem == undefined) {
         expect(timestamp).to.eq(undefined);
       }
-      if (timestamp !== undefined) {
+      if (timestamp !== undefined && timestamp instanceof Date) {
         expect(testItem?.toString()).to.contain(timestamp.getTime().toString());
       }
     });
@@ -219,7 +216,9 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: FilterPush", function () {
     ]);
 
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({ index: 0 });
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+      expectedMessageText: messageText
+    });
   });
 
   // Will be skipped until https://github.com/waku-org/js-waku/issues/1464 si done
@@ -245,12 +244,10 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: FilterPush", function () {
 
     // Confirm both messages were received.
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(2)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      index: 0,
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
       expectedMessageText: "M1"
     });
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      index: 1,
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(1, {
       expectedMessageText: "M2"
     });
   });
@@ -270,12 +267,10 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: FilterPush", function () {
 
     // Confirm both messages were received.
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(2)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      index: 0,
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
       expectedMessageText: "M1"
     });
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      index: 1,
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(1, {
       expectedMessageText: "M2"
     });
   });
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/filter/subscribe.node.spec.ts b/packages/tests/tests/filter/subscribe.node.spec.ts
index d8d57595b3..8dfdda677e 100644
--- a/packages/tests/tests/filter/subscribe.node.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/tests/tests/filter/subscribe.node.spec.ts
@@ -12,21 +12,21 @@ import { expect } from "chai";
 import {
   delay,
   makeLogFileName,
+  MessageCollector,
   NimGoNode,
+  tearDownNodes,
   TEST_STRING
 } from "../../src/index.js";
 
 import {
   generateTestData,
-  MessageCollector,
   messagePayload,
   messageText,
-  setupNodes,
-  tearDownNodes,
+  runNodes,
   TestContentTopic,
   TestDecoder,
   TestEncoder
-} from "./filter_test_utils.js";
+} from "./utils.js";
 
 describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
   // Set the timeout for all tests in this suite. Can be overwritten at test level
@@ -37,17 +37,15 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
   let subscription: IFilterSubscription;
   let messageCollector: MessageCollector;
 
-  this.afterEach(async function () {
-    tearDownNodes(nwaku, waku, nwaku2);
-  });
-
   this.beforeEach(async function () {
     this.timeout(15000);
-    const setup = await setupNodes(this);
-    nwaku = setup.nwaku;
-    waku = setup.waku;
-    subscription = setup.subscription;
-    messageCollector = setup.messageCollector;
+    [nwaku, waku] = await runNodes(this);
+    subscription = await waku.filter.createSubscription();
+    messageCollector = new MessageCollector(TestContentTopic);
+  });
+
+  this.afterEach(async function () {
+    tearDownNodes([nwaku, nwaku2], [waku]);
   });
 
   it("Subscribe and receive messages via lightPush", async function () {
@@ -56,7 +54,9 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
     await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, messagePayload);
 
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({ index: 0 });
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+      expectedMessageText: messageText
+    });
     expect((await nwaku.messages()).length).to.eq(1);
   });
 
@@ -74,7 +74,9 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
     );
 
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({ index: 0 });
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+      expectedMessageText: messageText
+    });
     expect((await nwaku.messages()).length).to.eq(1);
   });
 
@@ -84,7 +86,9 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
     await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, messagePayload);
 
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({ index: 0 });
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+      expectedMessageText: messageText
+    });
 
     // Send another message on the same topic.
     const newMessageText = "Filtering still works!";
@@ -94,9 +98,8 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
 
     // Verify that the second message was successfully received.
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(2)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      expectedMessageText: newMessageText,
-      index: 1
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(1, {
+      expectedMessageText: newMessageText
     });
     expect((await nwaku.messages()).length).to.eq(2);
   });
@@ -106,7 +109,9 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
     await subscription.subscribe([TestDecoder], messageCollector.callback);
     await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, messagePayload);
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({ index: 0 });
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+      expectedMessageText: messageText
+    });
 
     // Modify subscription to include a new content topic and send a message.
     const newMessageText = "Filtering still works!";
@@ -119,18 +124,16 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
       payload: utf8ToBytes(newMessageText)
     });
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(2)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(1, {
       expectedContentTopic: newContentTopic,
-      expectedMessageText: newMessageText,
-      index: 1
+      expectedMessageText: newMessageText
     });
 
     // Send another message on the initial content topic to verify it still works.
     await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, newMessagePayload);
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(3)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      expectedMessageText: newMessageText,
-      index: 2
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(2, {
+      expectedMessageText: newMessageText
     });
     expect((await nwaku.messages()).length).to.eq(3);
   });
@@ -154,10 +157,9 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
     // Verify that each message was received on the corresponding topic.
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(20)).to.eq(true);
     td.contentTopics.forEach((topic, index) => {
-      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
+      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(index, {
         expectedContentTopic: topic,
-        expectedMessageText: `Message for Topic ${index + 1}`,
-        index: index
+        expectedMessageText: `Message for Topic ${index + 1}`
       });
     });
   });
@@ -179,10 +181,9 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
     // Verify that each message was received on the corresponding topic.
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(30)).to.eq(true);
     td.contentTopics.forEach((topic, index) => {
-      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
+      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(index, {
         expectedContentTopic: topic,
-        expectedMessageText: `Message for Topic ${index + 1}`,
-        index: index
+        expectedMessageText: `Message for Topic ${index + 1}`
       });
     });
   });
@@ -253,12 +254,10 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
 
     // Confirm both messages were received.
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(2)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      index: 0,
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
       expectedMessageText: "M1"
     });
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      index: 1,
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(1, {
       expectedMessageText: "M2"
     });
   });
@@ -273,8 +272,8 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
       await waku.lightPush.send(newEncoder, messagePayload);
 
       expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
-      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-        index: 0,
+      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+        expectedMessageText: messageText,
         expectedContentTopic: newContentTopic
       });
     });
@@ -295,12 +294,10 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
 
     // Check if both messages were received
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(2)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      index: 0,
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
       expectedMessageText: "M1"
     });
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      index: 1,
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(1, {
       expectedContentTopic: newContentTopic,
       expectedMessageText: "M2"
     });
@@ -332,12 +329,10 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Subscribe", function () {
 
     // Check if both messages were received
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(2)).to.eq(true);
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      index: 0,
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
       expectedMessageText: "M1"
     });
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({
-      index: 1,
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(1, {
       expectedContentTopic: newContentTopic,
       expectedMessageText: "M2"
     });
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/filter/unsubscribe.node.spec.ts b/packages/tests/tests/filter/unsubscribe.node.spec.ts
index 6e2b7355b5..df73ec59c7 100644
--- a/packages/tests/tests/filter/unsubscribe.node.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/tests/tests/filter/unsubscribe.node.spec.ts
@@ -3,18 +3,17 @@ import type { IFilterSubscription, LightNode } from "@waku/interfaces";
 import { utf8ToBytes } from "@waku/utils/bytes";
 import { expect } from "chai";
 
-import { NimGoNode } from "../../src/index.js";
+import { MessageCollector, NimGoNode, tearDownNodes } from "../../src/index.js";
 
 import {
   generateTestData,
-  MessageCollector,
   messagePayload,
-  setupNodes,
-  tearDownNodes,
+  messageText,
+  runNodes,
   TestContentTopic,
   TestDecoder,
   TestEncoder
-} from "./filter_test_utils.js";
+} from "./utils.js";
 
 describe("Waku Filter V2: Unsubscribe", function () {
   // Set the timeout for all tests in this suite. Can be overwritten at test level
@@ -24,17 +23,15 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Unsubscribe", function () {
   let subscription: IFilterSubscription;
   let messageCollector: MessageCollector;
 
-  this.afterEach(async function () {
-    tearDownNodes(nwaku, waku);
-  });
-
   this.beforeEach(async function () {
     this.timeout(15000);
-    const setup = await setupNodes(this);
-    nwaku = setup.nwaku;
-    waku = setup.waku;
-    subscription = setup.subscription;
-    messageCollector = setup.messageCollector;
+    [nwaku, waku] = await runNodes(this);
+    subscription = await waku.filter.createSubscription();
+    messageCollector = new MessageCollector(TestContentTopic);
+  });
+
+  this.afterEach(async function () {
+    tearDownNodes([nwaku], [waku]);
   });
 
   it("Unsubscribe 1 topic - node subscribed to 1 topic", async function () {
@@ -48,7 +45,9 @@ describe("Waku Filter V2: Unsubscribe", function () {
     expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(2)).to.eq(false);
 
     // Check that from 2 messages send only the 1st was received
-    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage({ index: 0 });
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+      expectedMessageText: messageText
+    });
     expect(messageCollector.count).to.eq(1);
     expect((await nwaku.messages()).length).to.eq(2);
   });
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/filter/utils.ts b/packages/tests/tests/filter/utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..988bf49dbb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/tests/tests/filter/utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+import {
+  createDecoder,
+  createEncoder,
+  Decoder,
+  Encoder,
+  waitForRemotePeer
+} from "@waku/core";
+import { IFilterSubscription, LightNode, Protocols } from "@waku/interfaces";
+import { createLightNode } from "@waku/sdk";
+import { utf8ToBytes } from "@waku/utils/bytes";
+import debug from "debug";
+import { Context } from "mocha";
+
+import { makeLogFileName, NimGoNode, NOISE_KEY_1 } from "../../src/index.js";
+
+// Constants for test configuration.
+export const log = debug("waku:test:filter");
+export const TestContentTopic = "/test/1/waku-filter";
+export const TestEncoder = createEncoder({ contentTopic: TestContentTopic });
+export const TestDecoder = createDecoder(TestContentTopic);
+export const messageText = "Filtering works!";
+export const messagePayload = { payload: utf8ToBytes(messageText) };
+
+// Utility to generate test data for multiple topics tests.
+export function generateTestData(topicCount: number): {
+  contentTopics: string[];
+  encoders: Encoder[];
+  decoders: Decoder[];
+} {
+  const contentTopics = Array.from(
+    { length: topicCount },
+    (_, i) => `/test/${i + 1}/waku-multi`
+  );
+  const encoders = contentTopics.map((topic) =>
+    createEncoder({ contentTopic: topic })
+  );
+  const decoders = contentTopics.map((topic) => createDecoder(topic));
+  return {
+    contentTopics,
+    encoders,
+    decoders
+  };
+}
+
+// Utility to validate errors related to pings in the subscription.
+export async function validatePingError(
+  subscription: IFilterSubscription
+): Promise<void> {
+  try {
+    await subscription.ping();
+    throw new Error(
+      "Ping was successful but was expected to fail with a specific error."
+    );
+  } catch (err) {
+    if (
+      err instanceof Error &&
+      err.message.includes("peer has no subscriptions")
+    ) {
+      return;
+    } else {
+      throw err;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+export async function runNodes(
+  currentTest: Context
+): Promise<[NimGoNode, LightNode]> {
+  const nwaku = new NimGoNode(makeLogFileName(currentTest));
+  await nwaku.startWithRetries(
+    {
+      filter: true,
+      lightpush: true,
+      relay: true
+    },
+    { retries: 3 }
+  );
+
+  let waku: LightNode | undefined;
+  try {
+    waku = await createLightNode({
+      staticNoiseKey: NOISE_KEY_1,
+      libp2p: { addresses: { listen: ["/ip4/0.0.0.0/tcp/0/ws"] } }
+    });
+    await waku.start();
+  } catch (error) {
+    log("jswaku node failed to start:", error);
+  }
+
+  if (waku) {
+    await waku.dial(await nwaku.getMultiaddrWithId());
+    await waitForRemotePeer(waku, [Protocols.Filter, Protocols.LightPush]);
+    return [nwaku, waku];
+  } else {
+    throw new Error("Failed to initialize waku");
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/light-push/custom_pubsub.node.spec.ts b/packages/tests/tests/light-push/custom_pubsub.node.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fa36bad14d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/tests/tests/light-push/custom_pubsub.node.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+import { LightNode } from "@waku/interfaces";
+import { utf8ToBytes } from "@waku/utils/bytes";
+import { expect } from "chai";
+
+import { MessageCollector, NimGoNode, tearDownNodes } from "../../src/index.js";
+
+import {
+  messageText,
+  runNodes,
+  TestContentTopic,
+  TestEncoder
+} from "./utils.js";
+
+describe("Waku Light Push [node only] - custom pubsub topic", function () {
+  this.timeout(15000);
+  let waku: LightNode;
+  let nwaku: NimGoNode;
+  let messageCollector: MessageCollector;
+  const customPubSubTopic = "/waku/2/custom-dapp/proto";
+
+  beforeEach(async function () {
+    [nwaku, waku] = await runNodes(this, customPubSubTopic);
+    messageCollector = new MessageCollector(
+      TestContentTopic,
+      nwaku,
+      customPubSubTopic
+    );
+  });
+
+  this.afterEach(async function () {
+    tearDownNodes([nwaku], [waku]);
+  });
+
+  it("Push message", async function () {
+    const nimPeerId = await nwaku.getPeerId();
+
+    const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
+      payload: utf8ToBytes(messageText)
+    });
+
+    expect(pushResponse.recipients[0].toString()).to.eq(nimPeerId.toString());
+
+    expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+      expectedMessageText: messageText,
+      expectedContentTopic: TestContentTopic
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/light-push/index.spec.ts b/packages/tests/tests/light-push/index.spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3334cd76fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/tests/tests/light-push/index.spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,234 @@
+import { createEncoder, DefaultPubSubTopic } from "@waku/core";
+import { IRateLimitProof, LightNode, SendError } from "@waku/interfaces";
+import { utf8ToBytes } from "@waku/utils/bytes";
+import { expect } from "chai";
+
+import {
+  MessageCollector,
+  NimGoNode,
+  tearDownNodes,
+  TEST_STRING
+} from "../../src/index.js";
+import { generateRandomUint8Array } from "../../src/random_array.js";
+
+import {
+  messagePayload,
+  messageText,
+  runNodes,
+  TestContentTopic,
+  TestEncoder
+} from "./utils.js";
+
+describe("Waku Light Push [node only]", function () {
+  // Set the timeout for all tests in this suite. Can be overwritten at test level
+  this.timeout(15000);
+  let waku: LightNode;
+  let nwaku: NimGoNode;
+  let messageCollector: MessageCollector;
+
+  this.beforeEach(async function () {
+    this.timeout(15000);
+    [nwaku, waku] = await runNodes(this);
+    messageCollector = new MessageCollector(
+      TestContentTopic,
+      nwaku,
+      DefaultPubSubTopic
+    );
+  });
+
+  this.afterEach(async function () {
+    tearDownNodes([nwaku], [waku]);
+  });
+
+  TEST_STRING.forEach((testItem) => {
+    it(`Push message with ${testItem.description} payload`, async function () {
+      const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
+        payload: utf8ToBytes(testItem.value)
+      });
+      expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(1);
+
+      expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
+      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+        expectedMessageText: testItem.value
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("Push 30 different messages", async function () {
+    const generateMessageText = (index: number): string => `M${index}`;
+
+    for (let i = 0; i < 30; i++) {
+      const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
+        payload: utf8ToBytes(generateMessageText(i))
+      });
+      expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(1);
+    }
+
+    expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(30)).to.eq(true);
+
+    for (let i = 0; i < 30; i++) {
+      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(i, {
+        expectedMessageText: generateMessageText(i)
+      });
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("Fails to push message with empty payload", async function () {
+    const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
+      payload: utf8ToBytes("")
+    });
+
+    if (nwaku.type() == "go-waku") {
+      expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(1);
+      expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
+      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+        expectedMessageText: undefined
+      });
+    } else {
+      expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(0);
+      expect(pushResponse.errors).to.include(SendError.NO_RPC_RESPONSE);
+      expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(false);
+    }
+  });
+
+  TEST_STRING.forEach((testItem) => {
+    it(`Push message with content topic containing ${testItem.description}`, async function () {
+      const customEncoder = createEncoder({
+        contentTopic: testItem.value
+      });
+      const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(
+        customEncoder,
+        messagePayload
+      );
+      expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(1);
+
+      expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
+      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+        expectedMessageText: messageText,
+        expectedContentTopic: testItem.value
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("Fails to push message with empty content topic", async function () {
+    try {
+      createEncoder({ contentTopic: "" });
+      expect.fail("Expected an error but didn't get one");
+    } catch (error) {
+      expect((error as Error).message).to.equal(
+        "Content topic must be specified"
+      );
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("Push message with meta", async function () {
+    const customTestEncoder = createEncoder({
+      contentTopic: TestContentTopic,
+      metaSetter: () => new Uint8Array(10)
+    });
+
+    const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(
+      customTestEncoder,
+      messagePayload
+    );
+    expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(1);
+
+    expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+      expectedMessageText: messageText
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("Fails to push message with large meta", async function () {
+    const customTestEncoder = createEncoder({
+      contentTopic: TestContentTopic,
+      metaSetter: () => new Uint8Array(10 ** 6)
+    });
+
+    const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(
+      customTestEncoder,
+      messagePayload
+    );
+
+    if (nwaku.type() == "go-waku") {
+      expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(1);
+      expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
+      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+        expectedMessageText: messageText
+      });
+    } else {
+      expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(0);
+      expect(pushResponse.errors).to.include(SendError.NO_RPC_RESPONSE);
+      expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(false);
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("Push message with rate limit", async function () {
+    const rateLimitProof: IRateLimitProof = {
+      proof: utf8ToBytes("proofData"),
+      merkleRoot: utf8ToBytes("merkleRootData"),
+      epoch: utf8ToBytes("epochData"),
+      shareX: utf8ToBytes("shareXData"),
+      shareY: utf8ToBytes("shareYData"),
+      nullifier: utf8ToBytes("nullifierData"),
+      rlnIdentifier: utf8ToBytes("rlnIdentifierData")
+    };
+
+    const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
+      payload: utf8ToBytes(messageText),
+      rateLimitProof: rateLimitProof
+    });
+    expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(1);
+
+    expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
+    messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+      expectedMessageText: messageText
+    });
+  });
+
+  [
+    Date.now() - 3600000 * 24 * 356,
+    Date.now() - 3600000,
+    Date.now() + 3600000
+  ].forEach((testItem) => {
+    it(`Push message with custom timestamp: ${testItem}`, async function () {
+      const customTimeNanos = BigInt(testItem) * BigInt(1000000);
+      const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
+        payload: utf8ToBytes(messageText),
+        timestamp: new Date(testItem)
+      });
+      expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(1);
+
+      expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(true);
+      messageCollector.verifyReceivedMessage(0, {
+        expectedMessageText: messageText,
+        expectedTimestamp: customTimeNanos
+      });
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("Push message equal or less that 1MB", async function () {
+    const oneMbPayload = generateRandomUint8Array(1024 ** 2);
+    let pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
+      payload: oneMbPayload
+    });
+    expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.greaterThan(0);
+
+    const bigPayload = generateRandomUint8Array(65536);
+    pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
+      payload: bigPayload
+    });
+    expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.greaterThan(0);
+  });
+
+  it("Fails to push message bigger that 1MB", async function () {
+    const MB = 1024 ** 2;
+
+    const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
+      payload: generateRandomUint8Array(MB + 65536)
+    });
+    expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(0);
+    expect(pushResponse.errors).to.include(SendError.SIZE_TOO_BIG);
+    expect(await messageCollector.waitForMessages(1)).to.eq(false);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/light-push/utils.ts b/packages/tests/tests/light-push/utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cbe4cc32cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/tests/tests/light-push/utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import { createEncoder, waitForRemotePeer } from "@waku/core";
+import { LightNode, Protocols } from "@waku/interfaces";
+import { createLightNode, utf8ToBytes } from "@waku/sdk";
+import debug from "debug";
+
+import { makeLogFileName, NimGoNode, NOISE_KEY_1 } from "../../src/index.js";
+
+// Constants for test configuration.
+export const log = debug("waku:test:lightpush");
+export const TestContentTopic = "/test/1/waku-light-push/utf8";
+export const TestEncoder = createEncoder({ contentTopic: TestContentTopic });
+export const messageText = "Light Push works!";
+export const messagePayload = { payload: utf8ToBytes(messageText) };
+
+export async function runNodes(
+  context: Mocha.Context,
+  pubSubTopic?: string
+): Promise<[NimGoNode, LightNode]> {
+  const nwakuOptional = pubSubTopic ? { topic: pubSubTopic } : {};
+  const nwaku = new NimGoNode(makeLogFileName(context));
+  await nwaku.startWithRetries(
+    {
+      lightpush: true,
+      relay: true,
+      ...nwakuOptional
+    },
+    { retries: 3 }
+  );
+
+  let waku: LightNode | undefined;
+  try {
+    waku = await createLightNode({
+      pubSubTopic,
+      staticNoiseKey: NOISE_KEY_1
+    });
+    await waku.start();
+  } catch (error) {
+    log("jswaku node failed to start:", error);
+  }
+
+  if (waku) {
+    await waku.dial(await nwaku.getMultiaddrWithId());
+    await waitForRemotePeer(waku, [Protocols.LightPush]);
+    return [nwaku, waku];
+  } else {
+    throw new Error("Failed to initialize waku");
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/tests/tests/light_push.node.spec.ts b/packages/tests/tests/light_push.node.spec.ts
deleted file mode 100644
index 5b14f78676..0000000000
--- a/packages/tests/tests/light_push.node.spec.ts
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,158 +0,0 @@
-import { createEncoder, waitForRemotePeer } from "@waku/core";
-import { LightNode, SendError } from "@waku/interfaces";
-import { Protocols } from "@waku/interfaces";
-import { createLightNode } from "@waku/sdk";
-import { utf8ToBytes } from "@waku/utils/bytes";
-import { expect } from "chai";
-import debug from "debug";
-
-import {
-  base64ToUtf8,
-  delay,
-  makeLogFileName,
-  NimGoNode,
-  NOISE_KEY_1
-} from "../src/index.js";
-import { MessageRpcResponse } from "../src/node/interfaces.js";
-import { generateRandomUint8Array } from "../src/random_array.js";
-
-const log = debug("waku:test:lightpush");
-
-const TestContentTopic = "/test/1/waku-light-push/utf8";
-const TestEncoder = createEncoder({
-  contentTopic: TestContentTopic
-});
-
-async function runNodes(
-  context: Mocha.Context,
-  pubSubTopic?: string
-): Promise<[NimGoNode, LightNode]> {
-  const nwakuOptional = pubSubTopic ? { topic: pubSubTopic } : {};
-  const nwaku = new NimGoNode(makeLogFileName(context));
-  await nwaku.start({
-    lightpush: true,
-    relay: true,
-    ...nwakuOptional
-  });
-
-  const waku = await createLightNode({
-    pubSubTopic,
-    staticNoiseKey: NOISE_KEY_1
-  });
-  await waku.start();
-  await waku.dial(await nwaku.getMultiaddrWithId());
-  await waitForRemotePeer(waku, [Protocols.LightPush]);
-
-  return [nwaku, waku];
-}
-
-describe("Waku Light Push [node only]", () => {
-  let waku: LightNode;
-  let nwaku: NimGoNode;
-
-  beforeEach(async function () {
-    this.timeout(15_000);
-    [nwaku, waku] = await runNodes(this);
-  });
-
-  afterEach(async function () {
-    try {
-      await nwaku?.stop();
-      await waku?.stop();
-    } catch (e) {
-      console.error("Failed to stop nodes: ", e);
-    }
-  });
-
-  it("Push successfully", async function () {
-    this.timeout(15_000);
-
-    const messageText = "Light Push works!";
-
-    const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
-      payload: utf8ToBytes(messageText)
-    });
-    expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(1);
-
-    let msgs: MessageRpcResponse[] = [];
-
-    while (msgs.length === 0) {
-      await delay(200);
-      msgs = await nwaku.messages();
-    }
-
-    expect(msgs[0].contentTopic).to.equal(TestContentTopic);
-    expect(base64ToUtf8(msgs[0].payload)).to.equal(messageText);
-  });
-
-  it("Pushes messages equal or less that 1MB", async function () {
-    this.timeout(15_000);
-    const MB = 1024 ** 2;
-
-    let pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
-      payload: generateRandomUint8Array(MB)
-    });
-    expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.greaterThan(0);
-
-    pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
-      payload: generateRandomUint8Array(65536)
-    });
-    expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.greaterThan(0);
-  });
-
-  it("Fails to push message bigger that 1MB", async function () {
-    this.timeout(15_000);
-    const MB = 1024 ** 2;
-
-    const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
-      payload: generateRandomUint8Array(MB + 65536)
-    });
-    expect(pushResponse.recipients.length).to.eq(0);
-    expect(pushResponse.errors).to.include(SendError.SIZE_TOO_BIG);
-  });
-});
-
-describe("Waku Light Push [node only] - custom pubsub topic", () => {
-  let waku: LightNode;
-  let nwaku: NimGoNode;
-  const customPubSubTopic = "/waku/2/custom-dapp/proto";
-
-  beforeEach(async function () {
-    this.timeout(15_000);
-    [nwaku, waku] = await runNodes(this, customPubSubTopic);
-  });
-
-  afterEach(async function () {
-    try {
-      await nwaku?.stop();
-      await waku?.stop();
-    } catch (e) {
-      console.error("Failed to stop nodes: ", e);
-    }
-  });
-
-  it("Push message", async function () {
-    this.timeout(15_000);
-
-    const nimPeerId = await nwaku.getPeerId();
-    const messageText = "Light Push works!";
-
-    log("Send message via lightpush");
-    const pushResponse = await waku.lightPush.send(TestEncoder, {
-      payload: utf8ToBytes(messageText)
-    });
-    log("Ack received", pushResponse);
-    expect(pushResponse.recipients[0].toString()).to.eq(nimPeerId.toString());
-
-    let msgs: MessageRpcResponse[] = [];
-
-    log("Waiting for message to show in nwaku");
-    while (msgs.length === 0) {
-      await delay(200);
-      msgs = await nwaku.messages(customPubSubTopic);
-    }
-
-    expect(msgs[0].contentTopic).to.equal(TestContentTopic);
-    expect(base64ToUtf8(msgs[0].payload)).to.equal(messageText);
-  });
-});